4 Ingredient Honey Lime Chili Chicken Thighs

This recipe for Honey Lime Chili Chicken makes a super simple weeknight meal. These thighs are succulently sweet and spicy. This dish gets requested over and over again!

This recipe for Honey Lime Chili Chicken Thighs needs only four ingredients and one pan. Minimal prep, minimal clean-up, tasty food . . . that’s my kind of meal. If you’ve been following along here for a while, you’ll know that lots of flavour plus minimal effort is my favourite combo. And this one fits the bill.

This recipe for Honey Lime Chili Chicken results in tender, juicy chicken that’s a little sweet, a little sour, with a little bit of heat from the chili powder. It has just the right amount of flavour to keep it interesting without being overpowering.

Too easy! Just whisk the honey-lime mixture together, brown the chicken in an oven-proof skillet, add the sauce to the pan and finish baking it in the oven. That’s it. This recipe is just as simple as one of our other favourites:  Honey Mustard Chicken with Turmeric. And if you’ve ever struggled with having chicken parts stick to the pan, read on.

How do I sear chicken without it sticking to the pan?

1. Heat an ovenproof skillet. Don’t add the oil yet.
2. When it’s hot, add a little oil, one with a high heat tolerance. Wait until the oil ripples. It will heat quickly.
3. Pat the chicken dry. Carefully add the chicken, skin side down.
4. Leave it alone. Don’t go moving it around the pan or it will stick. Let it fully brown on one side, usually for four or five minutes, then flip it over using tongs, being careful not to rip the skin.
5. Brown on the other side, then follow the rest of your recipe instructions.

Why should you make this Honey Lime Chili Chicken?

• only four ingredients
• one pan
• quick to prepare
• easy clean-up
• everyone likes it!

What should I serve with this Honey Lime Chili Chicken?

Serve this paleo chicken dish with rice or low-carb Cauliflower Rice, some green vegetables and a refreshing salad like this Mexican-inspired Pineapple Jicama Salad or this Cantaloupe Arugula Salad.

I hope you like this chicken as much as we do. If you make it, snap a photo, post it on Instagram with #flavourandsavour and tag me @flavourandsavour. I love seeing what you make!

I realized as I was writing this post that I have a lot of chicken recipes on this site. To make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for, I’ve created a new Chicken category in my Recipe Index. I was surprised to find I have 50 chicken recipes! If you’re searching for something in particular, just click on the Recipe Index in the menu bar above.

5 from 2 votes

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4 Ingredient Honey Lime Chili Chicken Thighs

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

This recipe for 4-Ingredient Honey Lime Chili Chicken Thighs makes an easy weeknight meal. It's sweet, spicy and succulent!

Course: Entrée/Main

Servings: 8 - 9 thighs

Calories per serving: 353 kcal

Author: Flavour & Savour

Ingredients

• 8-9 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 - 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 - 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp grapeseed (or other vegetable) oil

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. Whisk the lime juice, garlic, chili powder, and honey together and set aside.
3. Pat chicken dry.
4. Heat an ovenproof skillet on the stove top, add oil. When it ripples, carefully add the chicken, skin side down. Shake the pan a little to prevent sticking. Brown on one side until it turns a deep, dark golden colour (about 4-5 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side.

5. Remove from heat, drain excess oil, pour the honey-lime-chili mixture over all and place skillet in the oven.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 185°F.
7. Serve garnished with extra lime slices.

Try this Honey Lime Chili Chicken with Cauliflower Rice!